A federal judge has dismissed Grammy award-winning singer Lizzo from a harassment lawsuit filed by a wardrobe stylist but her production company remains a defendant.
U.S. District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha dismissed the seven causes of action against Lizzo this week, deciding plaintiff Asha Daniels had no standing to sue the singer individually because her touring and payroll companies were cited as her employers, according to Rolling Stone.
Lizzo’s production company, Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc., remains a defendant in the suit.
Phone calls to attorneys and representatives for Lizzo weren’t returned on Saturday.
Martin D. Singer, Lizzo’s attorney, praised the court ruling earlier this week and threatened to take legal action against Daniels.
“We are very pleased that the court dismissed every claim against Lizzo and the overtime wages claim against all of our clients including Big Grrrl Touring in this specious lawsuit,” he told Rolling Stone. “My client never should have been sued in this matter and (we) are evaluating suing Asha Daniels and her attorneys for malicious prosecution.”
The lawsuit, first reported by NBC News in September of 2023, accused wardrobe manager Amanda Nomura of doing stereotypical impressions of Black women, referring to the performers as “fat,” “useless” and “dumb,” and forcing them to change in front of a mostly white, male stage crew who would “lewdly gawk” at them.
Daniels was fired after complaining about Nomura, according to the suit.
“I felt like I was living in a madhouse,” Daniels, then a 35-year-old fashion designer, told NBC News the day before filing her lawsuit against Lizzo and other members of the singer’s team. “It was totally shocking.”
However, Lizzo’s team quickly fired back at Daniels’ legal team saying they were trying to “sully” an honor the performer was set to receive from the Black Music Action Coalition’s Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award, for her philanthropic work and commitment to social justice, NBC News previously reported. The singer’s team called the suit a bogus and absurd publicity stunt.
